Marcid
by matrixaffiliate
Summary: Harry loves time spent with the Weasley family, but he's most fond of his time with one in particular. Post Deathly Hallows Harry/Ginny one-shot. Fluff.


**Marcid**

**A/N: Have a story from my life. This is how I feel after long stays with my in-laws (whether us at theirs or them at mine). My family all lives close by so we don't do more than a day with them at a time, but I'm sure I'd feel the same way if I had to have long stays with them too. **

Harry loves the Weasley's. He loves the chaos and the laughter and the constant bustle of their home. It's extraordinary and full of love and people who love him, really love him.

After the war, with Arthur and Molly getting up in age, Bill started orchestrating a week or two in the summer where the whole family returned home under the pretense of a reunion, but in actuality it was for the kids to make sure those things that the parents kept saying they would get around to actually happened.

One year it had been clearing out the attic and getting the ghoul relocated. Another year it had been overhauling the garden and orchard. Harry still chuckles at the year they replaced all the flooring in the house and restored the stairs. He's grateful he and Gin didn't have kids then.

This year wasn't nearly so ambitious, the sons restored Arthur's shed while the daughters went through the kitchen with Molly to clear out what she wasn't using anymore now that she cooked almost exclusively with magic. It was harder for Molly to be on her feet for long and they'd finally convinced her to make her wand do the heavy work.

But this year, Harry and Ginny had brought all four kids for the week, piling into Ginny's old room. And while Jamie was willing to sleep on the floor because Teddy was, Al and Lily both ended up in the bed with him and Gin every night. And after six nights of little sleep, seven days of hard work, children screaming and laughing and running, listening to the Weasley brothers arguing with each other and their father about what they should and shouldn't do to the old shed, sharing old stories and laughter late into the night after most of the kids had succumbed to sleep, and a bit of griping on everyone's part, Harry was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

They had driven from Godric's Hollow, thinking the drive would be a nice way to start and end the week. They'd been right about starting the week, but right now Harry wanted to try his hand at translocating said car and Apparating his family home.

Al was jabbering endlessly, Jamie was yelling at Al to stop talking, Teddy was telling both of them to stop arguing, Lily was crying because she was buckled in her car seat, and he and Ginny were both seething as he drove them home.

"Enough," Ginny snaps as she turns to look in the back seat. "I love you all but if you make my ears ring with your arguing and shouting any longer I'm going to Apparate myself home and leave you to fend for yourselves!"

Harry glances back to see Jamie and Al glare at each other, Lily yawn in her seat as the silence allows her to finally start to succumb to her own exhaustion, and Teddy who looks incredibly upset.

"Ted, mate, we're just exhausted," Harry pushes aside his desire to just enjoy the silence for helping his newly adolescent godson. "Being with that many people for so long is draining on us. Do you feel that way after these things? Especially now that you and Vic are old enough that you're being asked to watch all the smaller kids while the adults work?"

Teddy's indignant expression falters for a moment before he huffs. "It makes it hard to hang out with Vic when Aunt Fleur shoves all the kids at us."

"We're all tightly wound right now Teddy," Ginny's voice is tired but the edge is gone.

"I'm sorry loves," she gives the kids a small smile, "let's get home and we'll all get a good night's rest and get things back to normal for us alright?"

The boys grumble their agreement and the rest of the long drive passes quietly as Lily finally passes out and Al dozes on and off.

Pulling up the drive, Ginny takes care of getting the kids into the house and putting the pizzas in the oven while Harry unloads everything they'd hauled to the Burrow.

He finally manages to get their bags inside and enters the kitchen to see the exhaustion he feels in Gin's expression.

"Pizzas will be done in ten," she sighs and pulls the paper plates down from above the refrigerator, tossing them on the table.

"Do we let Lils sleep or wake her up to eat?" Harry resists the urge to fall into his chair, knowing he probably won't get up.

Gin groans, "I don't know."

Harry opens his mouth to speak when Lily's shrill cry carries down from her room.

He eyes his chair longingly before sighing. "I guess she's eating, I'll grab her."

Dinner is the usual chaos but it feels worse for how drained he is, and he can see it in Ginny's face that she's in the same boat. As dinner ends, the vast majority of the mess left for tomorrow, bedtime routines start. First is Lily, which leaves Harry with the boys, something he usually loves but tonight feels like a punishment somehow. He's far too eager to go read bedtime stories and kiss his little girl goodnight when Gin calls him.

Then it's Jamie and Al's turn for a bath and Harry's grateful when Gin tells him to just sit with Ted and floo Andromeda to see how her visit with her brother-in-law and his family in Germany is going. Teddy had been with her for the first week before coming to spend a few weeks with the Potter's until Andromeda returned.

The calm helps a bit, but Harry is still too eager when Gin calls that the boys are ready for him to come read the picture books they'd picked out.

Once he and Gin shut the boys' doors, they move to collect Teddy, only to find him already coming up the stairs.

"Gran told me to go to bed because I was acting like Mum used to when she was overtired."

Ginny smiles and pulls Teddy into a hug. "Harry and I are going to go to bed too, love. We'll all feel better after a full night's rest in separate rooms."

Teddy chuckles, "Yeah, Jamie usually ended up kicking me in the middle of the night."

"Go enjoy that big bed of yours," Harry ruffles Teddy's blue hair. "We'll see you in the morning."

Teddy rubs his eyes and looks younger than thirteen for a brief moment, "Love you."

"Love you too, mate."

His door closes and Harry rubs a weary hand under his glasses.

"Merlin, I'm exhausted."

Ginny nods and moves to their bedroom. It's only eight, but Harry is in complete agreement of moving to their bed. Ginny starts her normal routine but Harry throws himself onto their bed and closes his eyes.

He's briefly startled when Gin climbs on top of him and lays her body flush against his. His arms encircle her instinctively and he lets their hearts beat against each other for a few moments in blissful silence.

"I love your family," he finally sighs.

"That makes one of us," Ginny mumbles into his neck.

Harry chuckles, "You love them."

"I'm not in the right headspace to answer that."

Her breathing is slowing as they hold each other and Harry feels the tension easing out of him.

It's surprising, that he forgets how much this helps after these long stays away from home with their small children. But as they lose themselves in each other, he's positive this connection is what he really has been lacking, more than sleep or anything else they'd sacrificed to go to the 'reunion.' They lay there holding onto each other, and whispering 'I love you' periodically because it simply conveys everything.

He vows not to forget this time, not to forget that this is their balm, which he's sure he did last time as well but whatever.

"We should go downstairs and see if there's a match on the telly." Ginny murmurs into his neck. "I want to snuggle with you under that big blanket and eat popcorn."

Harry hums at how lovely that sounds.

And so they end up curled around each other, a game of rugby on the telly and a bowl of popcorn balanced on their legs, drinks within reach. Ginny's head resting against his chest and shoulder is calming as the match plays quietly on the screen.

It's a good ten minutes in that he realizes he's smiling, a contented smile that felt so very distant not one hour ago but now sits upon his face like it's always been there.

He kisses Ginny's head and allows a happy sigh to escape him.

"I love you."

She looks up at him with the same smile currently gracing his lips and pushes up to kiss him briefly.

"I love you too."

And everything is alright again. The weariness has lost its edge, the exhaustion has given way to a comfortable tired, and he's wrapped around his wife, alone, with the kids asleep, and a match playing quietly on the telly. And suddenly the whole week was worth it because it ended like this.


End file.
